Cleaner guide for cleaning backplane optical connectors

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for cleaning backplane optical connectors is described herein. According to one embodiment, an apparatus includes a cleaner guide having a frontend and a backend, where the cleaner guide has a cleaning channel extended from the frontend to the backend and the backend includes a mounting bracket for removably mounting a connector adapter. When the cleaner guide is inserted into a slot of the chassis, the connector adapter is aligned and engaged with an optical connector disposed on a backplane of the network chassis, such that a cleaner tool can be inserted from the frontend of the cleaner guide, through the cleaning channel, to reach the connector adapter of the backend for cleaning the optical connector, without having to remove an adjacent circuit pack of the network chassis. Other methods and apparatuses are also described.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to optical networks. Moreparticularly, this invention relates to a cleaner guide for cleaningbackplane optical connectors.

BACKGROUND

Fiber optic systems have been getting more popular recently. With theadvent of light-wave technology, a large amount of information iscapable of being transmitted, routed and disseminated across greatdistances at a high rate over communication lines made of optical fiberswhich are coupled with each other through optical connectors.

Dust, dirt and other contaminants are a problem in such opticalconnections because they interfere with the passage of light from onefiber to another. Fiber optic connectors must be kept clean to ensurelong life and to minimize transmission loss and optical return loss atthe connection point. A single dust particle caught between twoconnectors will cause significant signal loss.

Optical connectors on a backplane are difficult to clean for severalreasons. One reason is because the equipment housing the backplane andoptical connectors is generally placed against a wall making access tothe rear of the optical connectors difficult. Also, the opticalconnectors are small and difficult to handle when removed for cleaningso it is advantageous to be able to leave them in the system and cleanthe optical connectors via front access to the shelf. Another reason isthat cleaning the optical connectors via front creates the possibilityof contact with other system components causing catastrophic failure ofthe system.

Conventional methods require the removal of adjacent circuit packmodules to create space for the operator to reach the optical connectorson the backplane. However, removal of adjacent circuit pack modules mayprevent the system node from operating partially or even completely. Inaddition, removing, rotating, and replacing the cleaning adaptersindividually could be a cumbersome process if the backplane has manyoptical connectors.

There has been a lack of simple and reliable solutions for cleaning andinspecting optical connectors inside a backplane chassis where theconnectors are not easily accessible, while allowing other components tocontinue operating.

SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION

An apparatus for cleaning backplane optical connectors is describedherein. According to one embodiment, an apparatus includes a cleanerguide having a frontend and a backend, where the cleaner guide has acleaning channel extended from the frontend to the backend and thebackend includes a mounting bracket for removably mounting a connectoradapter. When the cleaner guide is inserted into a slot of the chassis,the connector adapter is aligned and engaged with an optical connectordisposed on a backplane of the network chassis, such that a cleaner toolcan be inserted from the frontend of the cleaner guide, through thecleaning channel, to reach the connector adapter of the backend forcleaning the optical connector, without having to remove an adjacentcircuit pack of the network chassis.

Other features of the present invention will be apparent from theaccompanying drawings and from the detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereferences indicate similar elements.

FIGS. 1A-1G are diagrams illustrating a process for cleaning opticalconnectors of a backplane according to certain embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 2A-2B show perspective views of a cleaner guide module accordingto one embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 3A-3B show perspective views of a front panel of a cleaner guideaccording to one embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 4A-4C show perspective views of side panels of a cleaner guideaccording to one embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 5A-5B show perspective views of an alignment bracket of a cleanerguide according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 6A-6B show perspective views of a cleaner guide according toanother embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 7A-7B show perspective views of a front panel of a cleaner guideaccording to another embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 8A-8D show perspective views of a side panel assembly according toanother embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of an alignment bracket of a cleanerguide according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 10A-10B show perspective views of an optical connector adapterwhich may be used with one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A cleaner guide for cleaning backplane optical connectors is describedherein. In the following description, numerous details are set forth toprovide a more thorough explanation of embodiments of the presentinvention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, thatembodiments of the present invention may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devicesare shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order toavoid obscuring embodiments of the present invention.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to thesame embodiment.

In most fiber systems, dust and other contaminants are not a majorproblem as long as the “light”, that is the optical signal, remainswithin the optical fiber. However, problems arise when the opticalsignal must pass from one fiber to another or where the optical signalmust leave the fiber and enter a receiver or piece of test equipment,such as an optical power meter. The most common mechanical arrangementto allow light to travel from one fiber to another is an opticalconnector. Fiber optic connector systems are designed to align two fiberends so that the light signal will pass between them.

Most connector systems restrain the two fibers to be coupled withinprecision ferrules, which in turn are held in place by a housing. Withinthe housing, a precision alignment sleeve aligns the two ferrules andthus the two fibers. The fiber ends are flush with the ferrule ends andare polished to reduce loss of light. All modern connector designsinvolve physical contact between the two fiber ends.

As mentioned above, dust, dirt and other contaminants are a problem insuch optical connections because they interfere with the passage oflight from one fiber to another. Fiber optic connectors must be keptclean to ensure long life and to minimize transmission loss and opticalreturn loss at the connection point. A single dust particle caughtbetween two connectors will cause significant signal loss.

In order to avoid problems and to keep fiber ends in peak condition,connector cleaning must be undertaken frequently. Inspection of thefiber end quality also needs to be undertaken to determine if cleaningis required or if the connector is seriously damaged.

The two basic approaches to cleaning are wet and dry cleaning. Wetcleaning utilizes a solvent such as Isopropyl Alcohol and fiber opticswabs. The swabs have a head made of a soft nonabrasive material thathas low particle and fiber generation. Dry cleaning takes a number offorms, but the most common approach involves a special alcohol-freecloth or textile cleaning tape or film on a reel inside a cartridge. Thecartridge stores the tape reel and provides a window onto a shortportion of the cloth tape for cleaning the fiber ends of connectors.Also, a fiber optical swab with a sticky or tacky head may be used.Dynamic cleaning devices are also available which “spin” a cleaningcloth across the end of the fiber.

Microscopic inspection must be conducted to confirm that cleaning issuccessful. On some occasions, even after repeated cleaning, inspectionwill show that the fiber end is damaged beyond recovery and theconnector must be replaced.

As mentioned above, optical connectors on a backplane are difficult toclean for several reasons. A backplane is an electronic circuit boardcontaining circuitry and sockets into which additional electronicdevices on other circuit boards or cards can be plugged. One reason isbecause the equipment housing the backplane and optical connectors isgenerally placed against a wall making access to the rear of the opticalconnectors difficult. Also, the optical connectors are small anddifficult to handle when removed for cleaning so it is advantageous tobe able to leave them in the system and clean the optical connectors viafront access to the shelf. Another reason is that cleaning the opticalconnectors via front creates the possibility of contact with othersystem components causing catastrophic failure of the system. Anotherreason is that once the cleaning process is complete, all the fiber endsin the bundle must be clean. Furthermore, due to the small scale of theoptical connector, finding the correct position for the cleaning swab orinspection scope while viewing the backplane from the front is verydifficult.

Thus, the purpose of embodiments of the invention is to create anefficient solution for cleaning optical connectors mounted on abackplane of a chassis. The optical connectors are cleaned from thefront of the chassis without having to remove adjacent circuit packmodules. Thus, it allows cleaning of the backplane optical connectors,one slot at a time, without having to completely shut down thecorresponding system node (e.g., the chassis).

According to certain embodiments, to dry clean optical connectors in abackplane from the front of the chassis, a cleaner adapter needs to beinstalled into each optical connector. A cleaning ward of a cleaningtool is then inserted through the cleaning adapter and into the opticalconnector to clean the first set of ferrules (e.g., fibers) of theoptical connectors. To clean the second set of ferrules of the opticalconnector, the cleaning adapter needs to be removed from the opticalconnector, then rotated in 180 degrees, and finally reinserted into theoptical connector. The cleaning ward is then reinserted through thecleaning adapter and into the optical connector to clean the second setof ferrules.

Embodiments of the invention allow for a safe and efficient process forcleaning optical connectors. One advantage of embodiments of theinvention is that cleaning could be performed without the removal ofadjacent circuit packs. Another advantage is that it eases the processof installing the cleaning adapters. Such a design also provides safetyto adjacent circuit packs during the cleaning process, such that theadjacent circuit packs would not be damaged during the cleaning process.

FIGS. 1A-1G are diagrams illustrating a process for cleaning opticalconnectors of a backplane according to certain embodiments of theinvention. According to one embodiment, a cleaning module is designed tofit into a circuit pack module slot of a backplane chassis, where thecleaning module is designed to have a dimension similar to a regularcircuit pack that can be inserted into any of slots of the backplanechassis. Referring to FIGS. 1A-1G, cleaning module 100 includes acleaner guide module 102 having a removable an alignment bracket 104with an optical connector adapter 106 mounted onto the alignment bracket104. In this example, optical connector adapter 106 is an HBMT(high-density backplane mounted) compatible backplane connector. Notethat for the purpose of illustration, an HBMT connector and an HBMTadapter are used as an example of an optical connector and adapterthroughout this application. However, it is not so limited; other typesof optical connectors and/or adapters can also be applied. Similarly,the techniques described throughout this application can also be appliedto a variety of cleaning tools or methods (e.g., wet or dry cleaningmethods) and the techniques can also be applied to a variety ofbackplane systems.

Referring back to FIGS. 1A-1G, cleaning module 100 can slide intochassis 108 just as any other circuit pack modules. This allows cleaningof the backplane HBMT connectors (not shown) disposed on a backplane ofchassis 108, one slot at a time without having to remove adjacentcircuit pack modules as shown in FIGS. 1B-1C. Cleaner guide module 102includes a removable HBMT adapter 106 mounted on the alignment bracket104. The HBMT adapter 106 may include a single HBMT adapter or multipleHBMT adapters (also referred to as a ganged HBMT adapter). Thus, theremay be more than one ganged HBMT adapter per cleaning module, dependentupon number of HBMT connectors in the backplane per circuit pack.

In addition, dry cleaning of HBMT connectors requires the attachment ofthe HBMT cleaning adapter in two positions to clean both sets of opticalfibers (e.g., ferrules of a connector). The two positions require a userto rotate the HBMT cleaning adapter 180 degrees around an axis of theHBMT connector. According to one embodiment, the design describedthroughout this application allows the HBMT cleaning adapter to berotated 180 degrees to fulfill the required positions for multiple HBMTconnectors per circuit pack slot as shown in FIGS. 1D-1G.

Once cleaning module 100 is inserted into chassis 108 with appropriateHBMT cleaning adapter 106 mounted via alignment bracket 104 in anappropriate orientation, a dry cleaner wand of a dry cleaner 110 can beinserted from a front panel of chassis 108, through cleaning module 100,to reach the HBMT connectors (not shown) mounted on a backplane ofchassis 108 for cleaning, where ferrules of the HBMT connectors aremaintained opened by HBMT adapters 106 which are aligned by alignmentbracket 104, as shown in FIG. 1C and 1G.

According to another embodiment, cleaning module 100 can also be usedfor wet cleaner and optical inspection probes. In such situation,cleaning module 100 can simply inserted without the HBMT adapters and/orthe alignment bracket mounted thereon. A wet cleaner and an opticalinspection probe can be inserted through the cleaner module to reach theHBMT connectors mounted on the backplane.

Further, according to one embodiment, cleaner module 100 furtherincludes side panels to form a tunnel or channel to allow a cleaner orinspection probe to be inserted therein. The side panels also serve aprotection purpose such that during the cleaning or inspection process,adjacent circuit packs would not be accidentally contacted (e.g., shortcircuit).

Before cleaning the HBMT connectors of a particular circuit slot of achassis, the corresponding circuit pack of the particular circuit slotis removed from the chassis. An HBMT adapter 106 is attached to analignment bracket 104 and the alignment bracket 104 having HBMT adapter106 attached thereon is then inserted into cleaner guide module 102,forming a cleaning module 100, as shown in FIG. 1A. The assembledcleaning module 100 is then inserted into the slot to be cleaned asshown in FIG. 1B. Thereafter, a nose of a cleaner 110 can then beinserted through the tunnel of the cleaning module 100 to reach the HBMTconnectors mounted on a backplane of chassis 108 for the cleaningpurpose as shown in FIG. 1C. In order to ensure that cleaner 110 ispositioned properly, an alignment dot on top of the cleaner 110 is inline with an alignment dot on the HBMT adapter as shown in FIG. 10A.

Once the first set of ferrules of an HBMT connector has been clean,cleaning module 100 is removed from the slot as shown in FIG. 1D and theHBMT adapters 106 as well as the alignment bracket 104 is rotated in 180degrees with respect to the cleaner guide 102 as shown in FIG. 1E.Thereafter, the cleaning module 100 with the rotated adapters isinserted back to the slot as shown in FIG. 1F and the cleaner 110 canthen be reinserted into the cleaning module to clean a second set offerrules of HBMT connectors as shown in FIG. 1G. The above process canbe repeated for each of the slots in the chassis.

FIGS. 2A-2B show perspective views of a cleaner guide module accordingto one embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIGS. 2A-2B, cleanerguide module 102 may be utilized as part of a cleaner guide module of acleaning module as shown in FIGS. 1A-1G. For the purpose ofillustration, certain reference numbers are maintained the same forsimilar parts and/or similar functionality of the drawings. As describedabove, cleaner guide module 102 is configured to be in a similardimension as an ordinary circuit pack which can be aligned and insertedinto any one of the slots of a backplane chassis.

According to one embodiment, cleaner guide 102 includes a front panel112, a first side panel 114, and a second side panel 116, which aremounted onto the front panel 112 via a pair of mounting brackets. Sidepanel 114 is a relatively flat panel while side panel 116 is in aU-shape form, which when attached onto side panel 114, forms a tunnel,in this example, a relatively rectangular tubular tunnel 118 whichconnects with an opening of front panel 112 with a back of cleaner guide102. As described above, tunnel 118 may be used to insert a cleaningtool from a front panel 118 of cleaner guide to the backend of thecleaner guide in order to reach and clean the HBMT connectors of thebackplane for the inspection and/or cleaning purpose.

Front panel 112 includes one or more handles 120A-120B to allow a userto pull the cleaner guide 102 out from a slot of a backplane chassis.Front panel 112 further includes one or more stop brackets 122A-122B tostop the cleaner guide 102 from being overly pushed into a slot of thebackplane chassis. An enlarged version of front panel 112 is shown inFIGS. 3A-3B. An enlarged version of side panels 114 and 116 are shown inFIGS. 4A-4C.

Referring back to FIGS. 2A-2B, according to one embodiment, cleanerguide 102 further includes a cutout formed on a backend of cleaner guide102 to form a backend of tunnel 118. The cutout is also utilized toreceive an alignment bracket having one or more HBMT adapters attachedthereon, as shown in FIGS. 5A-5B. The alignment bracket having the HBMTadapters may be mounted within the cutout via a mounting bracket 126extended from side panel 116. The mounting bracket 126 further includesa screw which can engage with a threaded slot disposed on the alignmentbracket (not shown) to secure the alignment bracket onto cleaner guide102.

In one embodiment, cleaner guide 102 further includes one or morealignment slots 124A-124B mounted on a backend of cleaner guide 102. Inthis embodiment, alignment slots 124A-124B are mounted on a backend ofside panel 114. When cleaner guide 102 is inserted to a circuit slot ofa backplane chassis, the alignment slots 124A-124B are aligned withcorresponding alignment pins (not shown) mounted on a backplane of thechassis. In this way, the HBMT adapters along with the alignment bracketcan be precisely aligned with the corresponding HBMT connectors mountedon the backplane of the chassis.

FIGS. 5A-5B show perspective views of an alignment bracket according tocertain embodiments of the invention. Specifically, FIG. 5A shows analignment bracket capable of mounting multiple HBMT adapters, in thisexample, three adapters, while FIG. 5B shows an alignment bracket havinga single HBMT adapter. However, it is important to note that fewer ormore HBMT adapters may be implemented in an alignment bracket. Referringto FIGS. 5A-5B, alignment bracket 104 includes multiple opening or slotsfor mounting HBMT adapters 106A-106C. Each adapter is aligned with anedge 132 of a corresponding opening and mounted using a screw 128 via amounting hole 130 of cleaner guide 104 into a corresponding threadedslot (not shown) of the corresponding adapter. An HBMT adapter, which isshown in an enlarged version in FIGS. 10A-10B, can be inserted into anHBMT connector to ensure that ferrules of the HBMT connector are openenough to allow a cleaning tool to clean the ferrules (e.g., fibers) ofthe HBMT connectors. The alignment bracket 104 further includes one ormore mounting holes 150A-150B to allow a mounting screw 126 of cleanerguide 102 of FIGS. 2A-2B to secure the alignment bracket 104 onto thecleaner guide 102. Note that only one of the mounting holes may be usedat a time dependent upon how the alignment bracket 104 is positioned,for example, before or after rotation of 180 degrees for the purpose ofcleaning different sets of ferrules of an optical connector.

FIGS. 6A-6B show perspective views of a cleaner guide according toanother embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIGS. 6A-6B, similarto the one shown in FIGS. 2A-2B, cleaner guide 102 includes a frontpanel 112 and side panels 114 and 116. The cleaner guide 102 is designedto have a dimension similar to an ordinary circuit pack that can beinserted into any one of slots of a backplane chassis, such as chassis108 as shown in FIGS. 1A-1G. Again for the purpose of illustration,certain reference numbers for similar parts and/or similar functionalityare maintained the same.

In this embodiment, side panel 114 is formed in a relatively U-shapehaving a center piece and two wing pieces as shown in FIG. 8D. However,unlike the side panel 114 as shown in FIGS. 2A-2B in which the panel ismounted with side panel 116 via the wing pieces, in this embodiment asshown in FIGS. 6A-6B, the side panel 114 is mounted onto side panel 116via the center piece. As a result, the wing pieces of side panel 114together with side panel 116 form two separate tunnels 118A and 118B.The side panels 114 and 116 are mounted with a front panel 112 through apair of mounting brackets as shown in FIGS. 7A-7B.

FIGS. 8A-8D show perspective views of a side panel assembly according toone embodiment of the invention. Specifically, FIG. 8A shows a bottomperspective view of side panel 116; FIG. 8B shows a top perspective viewof side panel 116; and FIG. 8D shows side panel 116 being assembled.FIG. 8D shows a perspective view of side panel 114. Referring to FIGS.8A-8D, side panel 114 includes a center piece 144 and two wing pieces146A-146B. Center piece 144 includes one or more mounting holes that canbe used to mount the side panel 114 onto a top surface of side panel 116as shown in FIG. 8B using one or more screws. As a result, the wingpieces 146A- 146B together with side panel 116 form two cleaning tunnels118A-118B separated by center piece 114.

In addition, according to one embodiment, a portion of a backend of sidepanel 116 is bent or folded inwardly to form a mounting fixture ormounting bracket 140 for mounting an alignment bracket with one or moreHBMT adapters such as one shown in FIG. 9. Mounting bracket 140 furtherincludes one or more alignment pins 142A-142B disposed thereon to alignan alignment bracket with the HBMT adapters mounted thereon. Thealignment bracket can then be secured onto side panel 116 using screw126.

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of an alignment bracket having HBMTadapters mounted thereon according to another embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIG. 9, alignment bracket 104 includes twoopening having two HBMT adapters 106A-106B mounted via screw 128 throughmounting hole 130 and aligned with an edge 132 of the alignment bracket104. Alignment bracket 104 further includes two mounting holes 150A-150Bthat allow screw 126 of cleaner guide of FIGS. 6A-6B to secure thealignment bracket 104 onto the cleaner guide 102. Note that only one ofthe mounting holes 150A-150B is used at a time dependent upon whichorientation the alignment bracket 104 is positioned (e.g., before orafter rotation of the alignment bracket in 180 degrees) for the purposeof cleaning different sets of ferrules of an optical connector. Thealignment bracket 104 further includes one or more alignment slots148A-148B to align the bracket with the alignment pins 142A-142B ofFIGS. 6A-6B. HBMT adapters 106A-106B could be any kind of HBMT adapters,such as those shown in FIGS. 10A-10B.

Thus, a cleaner guide for cleaning backplane optical connectors has beendescribed herein. In the foregoing specification, embodiments of theinvention have been described with reference to specific exemplaryembodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications maybe made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope ofthe invention as set forth in the following claims. The specificationand drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative senserather than a restrictive sense.

1. An apparatus for cleaning backplane optical connectors, the apparatuscomprising: a cleaner guide having a frontend and a backend, the cleanerguide having a cleaning channel extended from the frontend to thebackend, the backend including a mounting bracket for removably mountinga connector adapter, wherein when the cleaner guide is inserted into aslot of the chassis, the connector adapter is aligned and engaged withan optical connector disposed on a backplane of the network chassis,such that a cleaner tool can be inserted from the frontend of thecleaner guide, through the cleaning channel, to reach the connectoradapter of the backend for cleaning the optical connector, withouthaving to remove an adjacent circuit pack of the network chassis.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the cleaner guide has a physical dimensionsimilar to a regular circuit pack that can be inserted any one of aplurality of slots of a network chassis.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the cleaning channel is formed as a tunnel having a surroundingwall to insulate the adjacent circuit pack, such that the cleaning tooldoes not contact the adjacent circuit pack while being inserted throughthe tunnel.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a removablealignment bracket disposed on the backend of the clean guide foraligning the connector adapter with the optical connector of thebackplane, wherein the connector adapter is attached to the alignmentbracket, and wherein the alignment bracket having the connector adapterattached therein is then mounted on the mounting bracket of the backendof the cleaner guide.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein when thealignment bracket is mounted in a first orientation on the backend ofthe cleaner guide, the cleaning tool can be inserted through theconnector adapter to clean a first set of ferrules of the opticalconnector, and wherein when the alignment bracket is mounted in a secondorientation on the backend of the cleaner guide, the cleaning tool canbe inserted through the connector adapter to clean a second set offerrules of the optical connector.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, whereinafter the first set of ferrules of the optical connector has beencleaned, the cleaner guide along with the alignment bracket can beremoved from the slot and the alignment bracket can be positioned fromthe first orientation to the second orientation, and wherein the cleanerguide having the alignment bracket positioned in the second orientationcan be reinserted into the slot to enable the cleaning tool to bereinserted through the cleaning channel to clean the second set offerrules of the optical connector.
 7. The apparatus of claim 4, whereinthe cleaner guide comprises: a front panel having an opening alignedwith a frontend of the cleaning channel; a first side panel having afrontend attached to the front panel; and a second side panel having afrontend attached to the front panel, the first and second side panelscoupled with each other to form the cleaning channel, wherein theremovable alignment bracket is mounted on a backend of at least one ofthe first and second side panels.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, whereinthe connector adapter is mounted on the removable alignment bracket in amanner such that the connector adapter is accessible by the cleaningtool from the opening of the front panel through the cleaning channel.9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first side panel is arelatively flat panel and the second side panel is molded in a U-shapepanel, wherein the U-shape panel and the flat panel when attached toeach other form a tunnel as part of the cleaning channel.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9, wherein the U-shape panel includes a center pieceand a first and second wing piece, wherein the U-shape panel is attachedto the first side panel via the wing pieces, forming the tunnelcentrally located on the first side panel.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9,wherein the U-shape panel includes a center piece and a first and secondwing piece, wherein the U-shape panel is attached to the first sidepanel via the center piece, forming a first tunnel and a second tunnelon opposite sides of the first side panel, and wherein the connectoradapter includes a first connector adapter mounted on a backend of thefirst tunnel and a second connector adapter mounted on a backend of thesecond tunnel.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising one ormore alignment slots mounted on a backend of the first side panel,wherein when the cleaner guide is inserted into the slot, the one ormore alignment slots are aligned with corresponding alignment pinsmounted on the backplane of the chassis, such that the connector adapteris aligned with the optical connector of the backplane.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 4, wherein the cleaning tool is a dry cleaning tool,wherein when the removable alignment bracket and the connector adapterare removed, at least one of a wet cleaning tool and an inspection toolcan be inserted from the frontend of the cleaner guide, through thecleaning channel, to reach the optical connector of the backplane forcleaning or inspection purpose.
 14. The apparatus of claim 4, whereinthe connector adapter is a ganged connector adapter having a pluralityof individual connector adapter corresponding to ganged opticalconnectors mounted on the backplane of the chassis.
 15. A cleaner guidefor cleaning backplane optical connectors, the cleaner guide comprising:a front panel having an opening; a first side panel mounted onto thefront panel; and a second side panel mounted on the front panel, thesecond side panel molded in a U-shape form attached to a surface of afirst side panel, forming a tubular tunnel having a frontend alignedwith the opening of the front panel and a backend to be coupled to oneor more connector adapters, wherein the cleaner guide has a physicaldimension similar to a regular circuit pack that can be inserted intoany one of a plurality of slots of a network chassis, and wherein whenthe cleaner guide is inserted to a slot of the network chassis, the oneor more connector adapters are coupled and aligned with correspondingoptical connectors disposed on a backplane of the network chassis, suchthat a cleaner tool can be inserted from the opening of the front panel,through the tubular tunnel, to reach the one or more connector adaptersof the backend for cleaning the optical connectors mounted on thebackplane of the network chassis, without having to remove an adjacentcircuit pack of the network chassis.
 16. The cleaner guide of claim 15,wherein the tubular tunnel includes a surrounding wall to insulateadjacent circuit packs, such that when a cleaning tool is insertedthrough the tubular tunnel, the cleaning tool does not accidentallycontact the adjacent circuit packs.
 17. The cleaner guide of claim 15,further comprising a removable alignment bracket to align the one ormore connector adapters with the optical connectors of the backplane,wherein the one or more connector adapters are attached to the removablealignment bracket and the removable alignment bracket is then removablymounted on the backend of the tubular tunnel.
 18. A cleaner guide forcleaning backplane optical connectors, the cleaner guide comprising: afront panel having a first opening and a second opening; a first sidepanel mounted onto the front panel; and a second side panel mounted onthe front panel, the second side panel attached to a surface of a firstside panel and molded in a manner to form a first tunnel and a secondtunnel, each having a frontend aligned with one of the first and secondopenings of the front panel and a backend to be coupled to one or moreconnector adapters, wherein the cleaner guide has a physical dimensionsimilar to a regular circuit pack that can be inserted into any one of aplurality of slots of a network chassis, and wherein when the cleanerguide is inserted to a slot of the network chassis, the one or moreconnector adapters are coupled and aligned with corresponding opticalconnectors disposed on a backplane of the network chassis, such that acleaner tool can be inserted from at least one of the first and secondopenings of the front panel, through at least one of the first andsecond tunnels, to reach the one or more connector adapters of thebackend for cleaning the optical connectors mounted on the backplane ofthe network chassis, without having to remove an adjacent circuit packof the network chassis.
 19. The cleaner guide of claim 18, wherein eachof the first and second tunnels includes a surrounding wall to insulateadjacent circuit packs, such that when a cleaning tool is insertedthrough a respective tunnel, the cleaning tool does not accidentallycontact the adjacent circuit packs.
 20. The cleaner guide of claim 18,further comprising a removable alignment bracket to align the one ormore connector adapters with the optical connectors of the backplane,wherein the one or more connector adapters are attached to the removablealignment bracket and the removable alignment bracket is then removablymounted on the backend of each tunnel.